EFL Trophy

[Agombar stool]

That would be the issue as think the Prem pay £1 Million plus for the prize fund.

It used to have 8 Conference sides in it, we even managed to get knocked out by Scarborough (before 2 months later getting knocked out by them in the FA Cup as well!)

See Harry McKirdy upset Kevin Ellison on Twitter last night!

I think McKirdy shows flashes of brilliance on the pitch but he is also a loose cannon and is a walking yellow card, usually by gobbing off to officials or kicking the ball away from a keeper taking a goal kick etc. Its worth remembering he is only 24 and he is letting his hair down on social media and whilst many will see it as 'banter' I do hope he doesn't cross the line. I think to get the best out of him you have to give him a little rope, but not too much to hang himself with.

 

[Agombar stool]

Still think the competition would be better without B teams and less prize money. The national league side is a good idea but it'll never happen, B teams are here to stay and it's only going to get worse IMO

Completely agree. But for a lot of lower league clubs the prize money is absolutely vital and so I think you are right, who knows how much the B sides are going to infiltrate the lower league.

 

[Devon_Lad]

Completely agree. But for a lot of lower league clubs the prize money is absolutely vital and so I think you are right, who knows how much the B sides are going to infiltrate the lower league.

I hope there is the super league equivalent of outcry from fans if they ever did *attempt* to join the leagues properly, but I fear Sky and the likes won't care because it'll benefit the PL so there won't be anywhere near the level of opposition.

 

[The Terminator]

I'm not sure when the U21 Contract/agreement expires for the current arrangements in place, pretty sure it was Shaun Harveys not so brilliant idea to do this. Its been going for 6 seasons now and I think he signed and agreed to have them in for a certain amount of seasons when the last extension was agreed.

I guess it will be down to Rick Parry and his current advisors/EFL Board to decide whether to scrap U21s involvement, or just scrap it completely when the next renewal comes up.

 

[Razzmachaz]

I quite like this competition and it does have a long running history now. I think it's great for fringe players to make an impression and for players coming back from injury. If your club treats it as such I don't think it really gets in the way of the other competitions either. If you get to the later rounds fans suddenly start taking more seriously and turn up which is rather fickle really considering the abuse they give it. They should get rid of the u21's though.

 

[Robshep]

We’re similar with Liverpool’s Paul Glatzel talented youngster but not enough physical strength. Last night he showed signs he might be capable of hacking it at this level two goals and an assist against a relatively strong Liverpool side.

Mostly right.

 

[valefan16]

I think McKirdy shows flashes of brilliance on the pitch but he is also a loose cannon and is a walking yellow card, usually by gobbing off to officials or kicking the ball away from a keeper taking a goal kick etc. Its worth remembering he is only 24 and he is letting his hair down on social media and whilst many will see it as 'banter' I do hope he doesn't cross the line. I think to get the best out of him you have to give him a little rope, but not too much to hang himself with.

That seems to be the issue with him, clearly has the talent but cant control himself and eventually seems to become a problem. Hopefully he gets himself in order because there is a good footballer there.

 

[Robshep]

I like the sound of this replace the B teams with the National sides which surely makes sense? That said, would the prize money drop dramatically if the B sides were withdrawn? Is the presence of the B sides why the prize fund is so generous?

Bribe money basically.

 

[Casey]

375 brave souls watched us lose 0-4 against Southampton last night.

I wasn't one and in tune with our management I don't give a hoot about this competition.

Casey

 

[Chris FGR]

I would prefer having some Scottish and/or Italian lower league clubs take part instead of the National League. The Premier League can pay for the travel to make up for ditching the league cup, (which they will do very soon).

 

[Bottega Don]

We lost 3-2 to Donny last night in our score that flattered us considering it was 3-0 in the 89th minute.

I'd be shocked if Hill doesn't walk out before the end of the season, no matter the manager these players do not care.

 

[BarraMatt]

Back in the days of the LDV Vans, not that we took part in it, the final always seemed to attract a good national attention and coverage. I don't think that's quite the same now and there's only one route cause.

 

[FGR Stroud]

Getting ready for (relative) short trip to Walsall.
2nd time the two clubs have met in this competition.
First time in Nov 2019 Walsall were going through a poor patch and did not expect to win.
Bloody Hell they hammered us 6-bloody-nil, our worst result in recent years.

Only consolation for FGR was that Walsall then went on a decent run of good form which did diminish the hurt.

 

[saddler78]

Getting ready for (relative) short trip to Walsall.
2nd time the two clubs have met in this competition.
First time in Nov 2019 Walsall were going through a poor patch and did not expect to win.
Bloody Hell they hammered us 6-bloody-nil, our worst result in recent years.
View attachment 15822
Only consolation for FGR was that Walsall then went on a decent run of good form which did diminish the hurt.

Be interesting to see how bothered you are about progressing you need a win of some sorts so if you are i would expect a half decent line up from you.Fair play for coming down wont be many there tonight.

 

[kieran_vale]

Back in the days of the LDV Vans, not that we took part in it, the final always seemed to attract a good national attention and coverage. I don't think that's quite the same now and there's only one route cause.

I think it’s always been the case prior to the U21’s coming into this that the early rounds were seen as a bit of a nuisance but nice to have if you made it to the area final. The second time we won it however we were scratching around the bottom half of L1 so it was a great chance to kickstart our season. That year was great also as the final was at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff which I’ve always preferred as an option over Wembley personally speaking.

As I said yesterday I just don’t see what the U21 teams get out of it. There’s a few who look good technically but more often than not are hopelessly outmatched. For me I’d suggest getting them regular football out on loan is probably more helpful to them.

 

[Indian Dan]

Looking at the teams left in the regionalised next round. There are 2 U21 teams in the southern section - Arsenal and West Ham. I presume the draw will prevent them from being paired together.

 

[valefan16]

I think it’s always been the case prior to the U21’s coming into this that the early rounds were seen as a bit of a nuisance but nice to have if you made it to the area final. The second time we won it however we were scratching around the bottom half of L1 so it was a great chance to kickstart our season. That year was great also as the final was at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff which I’ve always preferred as an option over Wembley personally speaking.

As I said yesterday I just don’t see what the U21 teams get out of it. There’s a few who look good technically but more often than not are hopelessly outmatched. For me I’d suggest getting them regular football out on loan is probably more helpful to them.

Got our season going (along with the signing of Steve Brooker) and we went on that run of 1 defeat in 20 odd games... did catch up with us though as the weather was bad that year so with so many postponements had to play 6 games in the last 10 days of the season!

Final was great though, poured down and the roof was broken but we were superb on the day. Sad to think Matty Carragher lifting that trophy is no longer with us.

 

[Chris FGR]

Getting ready for (relative) short trip to Walsall.
2nd time the two clubs have met in this competition.
First time in Nov 2019 Walsall were going through a poor patch and did not expect to win.
Bloody Hell they hammered us 6-bloody-nil, our worst result in recent years.
View attachment 15822
Only consolation for FGR was that Walsall then went on a decent run of good form which did diminish the hurt.

They hammered us 6-0 as quite rightly, we played a very much weakened team with several youth players. Why on earth would you ever risk key players in this competition?

Couldn’t care less if the same happens tonight, but unfortunately it probably won’t as Walsall are already through and will take it even less seriously then we will.

 

[Indian Dan]

That would be the issue as think the Prem pay £1 Million plus for the prize fund.

It used to have 8 Conference sides in it, we even managed to get knocked out by Scarborough (before 2 months later getting knocked out by them in the FA Cup as well!)

See Harry McKirdy upset Kevin Ellison on Twitter last night!

Was funny, tbf. Posted this pic from last night’s game with the caption ‘Harry (Potter) running past Voldemort’

 

[Devon_Lad]

They hammered us 6-0 as quite rightly, we played a very much weakened team with several youth players. Why on earth would you ever risk key players in this competition?

Couldn’t care less if the same happens tonight, but unfortunately it probably won’t as Walsall are already through and will take it even less seriously then we will.

Because of the potential prize funds I guess. Especially the latter rounds

 

[Chris FGR]

Because of the potential prize funds I guess. Especially the latter rounds

That is a fair point, especially given we’ve already fucked up the FA Cup. Our squad depth is poor, we’ve relied on pretty much 15 players so far this season, with most of our starting xi having zero cover of anything close to the same quality.

That being said this competition deserves to be treated with contempt, so I’d rather be out and make do without the prize money.

 

[valefan16]

Was funny, tbf. Posted this pic from last night’s game with the caption ‘Harry (Potter) running past Voldemort’

Ellison replied... popcorn time for the next meeting!

 

[denzel ecfc]

Looking at the teams left in the regionalised next round. There are 2 U21 teams in the southern section - Arsenal and West Ham. I presume the draw will prevent them from being paired together.

Plus Southampton, Villa and Chelsea

 

[JaredSUFC]

Despite the 1-0 scoreline it was a relatively comfortable win for Sutton against Wimbledon last night. 3 wins out of 3 in the group stage and no goals conceded.

Attendance was 2,458 with 496 away fans. So not quite boycott levels, but our only two home attendances under 2,000 this season have been in this competition, so we’re learning.

 

[valefan16]

We had a fairly big crowd last night, first couple of seasons we broke records for lowest home attendances at VP with 3 figure gates but was over 2000 there i think last night... that said I think last seasons ST holders got free tickets for it as part of the package to repay the ones who kept money in.

 

[Monkey Tennis]

Some of our fans paid to attend and (unbelievably) paid to watch on iFollow - and then moaned at how boring the match was! I mean, a dead rubber match in a pointless competition with all the decent players rested - it was no more than a training exercise. We'll probably have more competitive matches in the Lancashire Cup.

Still, under 600 fans so most people got the memo.

 

[saddler78]

Because of the potential prize funds I guess. Especially the latter rounds

Exactly fans might not care but clubs at this level need the funds it can generate.

 

[RiftHouseLad]

Looking at the teams left in the regionalised next round. There are 2 U21 teams in the southern section - Arsenal and West Ham. I presume the draw will prevent them from being paired together.

WestHam have been kicked out.

 

[BarraMatt]

WestHam have been kicked out.

They must have been propa nawty.

 

[Robshep]

Are Bristol Rovers even trying tonight.